Beer Geography: The Yeast Goes East

The East Village and Barrio Logan are becoming beer's next hot spots

Iron Fist Brewing Company has opened a satellite tasting room in the Mercado del Barrio development.

For a while it was North Park and Vista, then the Miramar area exploded with new breweries. Now, the East Village is about to become San Diego’s hottest new brewery 'hood.

Until recently, the East Village and Barrio Logan were reserved for only the most daring of business visionaries. Mission Brewery owner Dan Selis and Monkey Paw owner Scot Blair were two of the first to see the area’s potential. Then came the Border X tasting room on Logan Avenue, which was soon relocated to a bigger space with a brew house just down the street. Now Vista-based Iron Fist Brewing Company has opened a satellite tasting room in the Mercado del Barrio development. Eve Sieminski, co-founder of Iron Fist, says the area was an obvious choice for their second location. “When we looked at the incredible change in Barrio, with businesses moving in and new buildings going up, we knew it would be just a matter of time before this would be the next North Park... but better. We wanted to get in before it explodes.”

“We knew Barrio Logan would be the next North Park... but better. We wanted to get in before it explodes.” —Eve Sieminski, Iron Fist

Others are following suit. Thorn Street Brewery recently announced plans to open a 10,500-square-foot space in Barrio Logan, which will be the first large production brewery to actively brew in this part of town. 10 Barrel Brewing Co. has been approved by the city to open an East Village brewpub, which has caused something of an uproar in the craft beer community; 10 Barrel is actually owned by corporate beer behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev. Obviously, even the suits at the world’s biggest beer operation have gotten wind of how hip San Diego’s East Village is becoming. Mission’s head brewer, John Egan, says this is just the beginning. “The East Village is sort of like the wild west of downtown. Things are happening, people are moving about, and you just never know what you might see.”